Monthly Archives: May 2017

For the past forty years the nation has celebrated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. May is the month chosen by Congress because it commemorates the first Japanese immigrants to the U.S. (1843) as well as the completion of the transcontinental railroad, laid primarily by Chinese immigrants. Over the years the term “Asian/Pacific” has come to mean all Americans of Asian descent.

More important, the topic inspires creative agencies to remind us of the immense wealth of resources that they collect and share to expand our understanding of the traditions, the history, the art of Asian Paciic people. Just a very few examples:

The sounds of the past enrich our understanding of the nation’s cultural history and our history in general. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress

We live in what Harlan Cleveland dubbed a “temperocentric” world, a world that expresses ideas in fewer than 140 characters, and then moves on……

This is digital age, when thoughts expressed in 140 characters start a war, when a signature replaces a thoughtful disquisition, when Facebook and emails can be manipulated and alternative facts thrive, the work of the archivist is ever-more challenging and still more essential.

And then my thoughts rambled: I wondered future researchers will ever know how decisions were made……. At the core is a deep concern about the implications of those tweets for government transparency and accountability?

More concerning is the degree to which the ephemeral nature of information and communication will relieve them of responsibility – culpability – for the consequences or blur the causes of their actions.]

It is cold comfort to learn that the President’s tweets are safely archived, available for researchers who will bear the burden of explaining this era: http://www.trumptwitterarchive.com. Still tweets, even archived tweets are of scant value.

Clearly, it is a mighty challenge to capture the archival record of this era, much less to assure permanent access to past public documents. In recent months archivists have welcomed the assistance of informed volunteers – archivists, librarians, researchers, historians and others concerned with preservation of real facts have met the challenge. Though it’s a finger in the dike of information flow our nation’s recorded history is at risk.

Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today. ― Sara Sheridan

Writing about the current President’s tweets prompted me to focus with greater interest on just what’s happening with the archives of the Obama administration.

It did not take long to appreciate that reality exceeds expectations. With the cooperation of the Obama Administration archivists are committed to assure access to massive amounts of information by and about President Obama’s eight years in the White House. To give some idea of the massive research possibilities: The Obama administration is providing the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) with more than 250 terabytes of electronic records, including roughly 300 million emails.

NARA will start digitizing the unclassified records using a “new model” for the storage of presidential records. The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has made a commitment to fund the digitization of all unclassified records of the Obama presidency.

In a May 3rd article in FCW, Chase Gunter describes how NARA is shifting to digital preservation strategies; Gunter writes that “henceforth the unclassified records of the Obama Administration will be archived using a new model for the storage of presidential records. Instead of building a new site for the records they will be housed in existing NARA facilities and the agency will work on preserving and making them accessible in digital format to the greatest extent possible.” (https://fcw.com/Articles/2017/05/03/obma-records-digital-asps?p=)

This ancient truth comes to mind as we launch Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8-12, 2017.

In this age of standardized tests, teaching to test, for-profit schools, focus on optics and other short-term measures, Socrates’ words inflict sharp pains of cognitive dissonance!

Reflection leads to a deeper concern that the philosopher’s wisdom is lost – and that we are bereft with the harsh reality that creativity and critical thinking skills are a challenge to measure in society bent on measurable results. The results of creative and critical thinking show up not in test scores but in real life, in the sorts of informed, creative decisions we make as workers, consumers, family members – and voters.

Real life rests on symbiotic relationship between creativity and critical thinking. On the one hand, both are difficult to tech, impossible to measure. Creative people and critical thinkers start with questions, not answers – their penchant for question-asking does not measure well on standardized tests.

Creative/critical thinkers envision possibilities and have a sense that they have they have the capacity to overcome personal, societal or political obstacles along the way. In fact, they find joy and purpose in the very process of keeping an eye on the goal while analyzing the intervening steps.

All of this comes to mind as we launch this year’s celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, May 8 through May 12, 2017. Sponsored by the PTA, the week encourages today’s students to express their appreciation with a quick and painless hashtag: #ThankATeacher – an appreciative high five!

And yet, teacher appreciation extends far beyond the classroom, into a lifelong expression of thanks we all owe to the teachers who taught us to think.

For the past couple of years I have observed and learned from the creative thinkers who have taken time to share their thoughts on Voices of Northeast. As listen each week have to realize that a common thread weaves through these far-reaching conversations – regardless of the age, gender, medium or circumstance of the guest. Whether poet, visual artist, photographer, book artist, bookseller or book publisher almost every guest recalls with love and appreciation a teacher who spotted and fanned a young person’s special spark. In warm and grateful words these lifelong thinkers talk about the teacher who planted and nurtured a seed of creative, critical, constructive thinking that has shaped their life’s work – and their life.

Teacher Appreciation Day and Week are not of the moment, nor can the appreciation be expressed in 140 characters. This year’s Teacher Appreciation theme is “Teachers Deliver” – a prompt to let a teacher know that the lesson of creative and critical thinking has been delivered – and that we and others are grateful receivers of the lesson.

In fact, we do remember and appreciate that it is committed teachers who inspire young learners to think creatively, critically and constructively — as Socrates understood the role of the teacher to be.

Critical thinking narrows and creative thinking expands, but they must work in tandem for problem solving and decision making.”―Pearl Zhu

When liberal whites fail to understand how they can and/or do embody white supremacist values and beliefs even though they may not embrace racism as prejudice or domination (especially domination that involves coercive control), they cannot recognize the ways their actions support and affirm the very structure of racist domination and oppression that they wish to see eradicated ~~ Bell Hooks

Honest attempts to grapple with the complex issue of white supremacy is too often a simplistic effort, fraught with misconceptions, misinformation and long embraced mores. As often happens in this community, leaders are willing to meet the challenge. In recent discussions Pollen’s Unraveled Network series has asked white-led organization to “peel back their bias and fragility to dissect how institutional racism and white supremacy are barriers to equitable network building and community engagement.” (https://www.polenmidwest.org)

Pollen has now joined forces with the Twin Cities Daily Planet (http://www.tcdailyplanet.net) to provide a forum for conversation and examination of white supremacy. The effort is 1) to probe the roots of the ways in which supremacy acts as a system of power, and 2) to collaborate on ways to effect change in the workplace:

The agenda includes two sessions on the topic:

Thursday, May 11 – “Confronting White Supremacy in the Workplace,” a discussion with industry leaders whose work and personal experiences have led to changes in organizational culture.

Thursday, June 1 – Attendees will share their stories, offer solutions and set an action agenda.

Sessions will take place at the Minneapolis Indian Center, 1530 Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis. $25 for both sessions, $15 for each

UPDATE: Listen to the podcast of the first session here: https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/confronting-white-supremacy-in-the-workplace-podcast-and-further-reading/

Art – along with a certain amount of dust – is in the air as the creative makers of the Northeast Minneapolis arts community ready themselves and their workspaces for Art-A-Whirl 2017! A-A-W is the crowning jewel in the star-studded diadem of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Agency. (https://nemaa.org/about/ne-minneapolis-arts-district)

Much of the dust is coming from the studios of the artists – a sure sign that this is no ordinary “art fair.” A-A-W is, first and foremost, the nation’s largest open studio tour of the working spaces of artists and crafters who work, and often live, in Northeast. Paintings, pottery, mobiles, furniture, photos, tapestries, sketches, rugs, art books, and a host of unique renderings of the artists’ imaginations and talents are poised for last minute touch-ups and final presentation to the public.

Music also fills the air, much flowing from the studios of A-A-W host artists and crafters. Neighborhood boutiques, coffee shops and the renowned eateries and pubs of Northeast are primed for visitors!

A totally family-friendly weekend A-A-W offers the rare opportunity to tour not only galleries but artists’ working spaces. Visitors of all ages will have a chance to observe the makers of art at work – sculpting, glass blowing, painting, weaving, printmaking, creating photo images, collages, and mixed media works that marry sound and visual images. Future makers will be able to touch, feel, smell, even try their hand at creating art.

Visitors are welcome to wander randomly through the studio buildings, home studios, galleries and storefronts in the neighborhood. Personal experience suggests that a bit of advance planning about walking the hood, identifying studio locations and exploring public transit options is worth the effort.

Fortunately, print and digital guides to A-A-W abound. If you live, work or frequent the hot spots of Northeast, you can pick up a copy of the Artist Directory and Guide at any one of the arts buildings in the community. Or click here (https://nemaa.org/art-a-whirl.) for links to the essentials – the artist directory, map, dining guide, parking information and updates on A-A-W and NEMAA. Take special note of the “How to Whirl” section!

To appreciate the roots of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Area, take a few minutes to read about the unique history here: (https://nemaa.org/about/history) It’s an evolving story of community development focused on an understanding of the role of the arts in the local economy and in the life of a neighborhood that thrives on creative expression!

No man can rationally live, worship, or love his neighbor on an empty stomach. ― Woodrow Wilson

When the National Association of Letter Carriers launched their first national food drive in 1993, most Americans felt confident that hunger was a temporary challenge, A quarter century later Americans – children, elderly, mothers and their infants, jobless workers – go to bed hungry night after night. Children cannot learn, sick people cannot heal, workers cannot be productive – because they are malnourished.

And the future is grim at best.

The good news is that the nation’s letter carriers remain committed to continue – even expand – their national food drive. The 25th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is set for Saturday, May 13, 2017. (https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive)

Last year the food drive collected a record 80 million pounds of nonperishable food. This brought the total donations to date to more than 1.5 billion pounds.

The efforts of the letter carriers are shored up by hundreds of individuals and organizations that join in the drive. This year’s partners include the U.S Postal Service, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Valpak, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, the AARP Foundation and Valassis. Also joining letter carriers are their family members, friends, neighbors and other postal workers.

Details about this year’s drive have been – or soon will be – in every resident’s mailbox. Sponsors are quick to remind donors that all contributions are tax deductible. The Stamp Out Hunger Toolkit offers a wealth of ideas for promotion, collaboration, the logistics of the day https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive/food-drive-toolkit

Most important, plan ahead, think about the Stamp Out Hunger drive when you make your grocery shopping list. Add some nutritious, delicious, non-perishable groceries that will help a local food shelf meet the needs of neighbors who need the helping hand that you are able to extend – with a little help from your generous letter carrier!